


Faith in the Darkness

by FaithWinchester



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Pitch Black (2000), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2020-09-28 09:46:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20423918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithWinchester/pseuds/FaithWinchester
Summary: Shiny jewels are fun to play with, unless you suddenly find yourself in the future... in space... What's a Slayer to do?





	1. Amulets and Angels

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously, I own nothing here, all characters are the property of their respective creators. This work is intended for entertainment only and no profit is being made by their use.
> 
> Originally written in about 2005, doing a serious rewrite as I go here. My first post on this site, so I hope I'm doing everything right. Definitely open to suggestions and/or a volunteer beta reader.

~*~

"I don't think you should be touching that." 

  
Faith looked up and raised an eyebrow when Gunn spoke. He was leaning in the doorway, watching her.  
  
"And what makes you think I care?" she asked. Gunn crossed his arms over his chest and gave her an exasperated look.  
  
"You know things around here never turn out to be just harmless little trinkets, so put the damn necklace down before something happens," he growled. She glared and ran her thumb over the red jewel that sparkled like fire in the center of the silver pendant. Her gaze was drawn to the center of it, where the sparks inside seemed to be moving... swirling... it looked almost like a black hole, or a portal of some sort. She leaned closer and heard Gunn's shouted curse just as she fell, drawn into the swirl of light, which had suddenly grown large enough to swallow her whole.  
  
~*~  
  
"Angel!" The cry left her mouth seconds before she landed hard on a metal floor. She gasped at the blow and scrambled to her feet, dropping immediately into a fighting stance and looking around for an enemy.  
  
"Believe me, girl, I'm no angel," came a deep, gravelly voice and she spun around. He was leaning on the doorjamb with both hands, his eyes covered by dark goggles, his mouth twisted into a wry smirk. He was big, broad shouldered, well-built and all those muscles shifted under darkly tanned skin when he lowered his arms and took a step toward her. He wore a tight black tank top and black pants made out of some kind of heavy cargo material; just tight enough that she could tell his legs were as sculpted as the rest of him. Big black boots, similar to the ones she herself wore, laced up to mid-calf, but still, when he moved, he was silent. She knew that type of grace. He moved like a hunter, a predator, like a Slayer, and she felt the tension sing through her blood in anticipation of a fight.  
  
"Who the fuck are you? Where am I?" she demanded.  
  
Amusement laced with curiosity flickered over his face and Faith glared. She just knew he was thinking how cute it was that she thought she stood a chance in hell against him. She hated being underestimated.  
  
"Damned if that isn't a good question," he said, taking another step toward her. "How'd you get on this ship?"  
  
"Ship?" Faith looked around her, eyeing the cool metal walls, the panels of blinking lights and the small porthole. She moved a little closer and looked out, gasping when she saw nothing but stars in an impossibly black sky. Space.  
  
"Holy shit," she breathed, feeling her knees go weak. She spun around to face the man.  
  
"Who are you?" He smiled, slowly, taking hold of his goggles and lifting them so they rested on his head. He was within a few feet of her by then and her breath hissed in, sharply when he looked at her with shining silver eyes.  
  
"Richard B. Riddick. This is my ship."  
  
He seemed to be waiting for something, some kind of reaction, but the name meant nothing to her.  
  
"And what year is it, Richard B. Riddick?" she asked, carefully. He blinked, surprised, but quickly covered his reaction.  
  
"2683."  
  
Faith sat down quickly on the floor, suddenly dizzy. The last thing she remembered thinking was how much she hated it when Gunn was right.  


~*~

The girl was interesting, pretty, even unconscious. Dark hair that fell in waves to just past her shoulders, dark eyes that flashed when she was angry, or afraid and for a moment, he wished he could see colors again, wanted to know what color they really were. High cheekbones, a full mouth and a body that was firm and soft in all the right places, he decided, as he set her down on the narrow bunk in the passenger cabin. He might've left her where she fell, but then he would have had to watch her. If he closed the door, the computer would alert him when she opened it, and he wouldn't need to keep eyes on her.

He cocked his head to one side, studying her. Most women- hell, most men- would have run away at the mention of the name Riddick. Racking up a body count as high as his tended to create a reputation that reached far and wide. This girl hadn't flinched, hadn't reacted at all. The crouch she'd dropped into when she'd realized she wasn't alone had been automatic, a reflex that came from years of training in some form of martial arts. The way she moved, the muscles that rippled under that so soft skin, the scars that he glimpsed when her clothes shifted said she was a fighter. A warrior of some kind. A merc, maybe, but what merc in the ‘verse didn’t know who Riddick was? Interesting.  
  
Her clothes weren’t so strange at first glance, but looking closer, there were oddities. Her boots were much like his own, but smaller, of course. Her pants were tight, matched the boots, black and a little bit shiny, almost like vinyl, but he had the feeling this wasn't a man made material. Something about the way it clung to her form, the way it whispered when she moved told him it had once been alive. Leather. From a cow. That was hard to come by. Her shirt was cotton, he guessed, and it didn’t feel synthetic. This felt like the real deal, white and lightweight enough that he could see the outline of her bra beneath it and cropped just above her navel. Across her right bicep was a tattoo, something similar to the tribal designs of old Earth.  
  
Intrigued he leaned closer, breathing her in. She smelled like woman, soap and a little bit of fear, but under that was something else. Something that made him draw back and stare hard at her face again.  
  
Steel, blades, blood. The scents lingered in his nose and he let his gaze wander over her small form. She was beautiful, but far from harmless. This one smelled like him. She smelled like death.

~*~


	2. Chapter 2

~*~ 

Faith opened her eyes and took several deep breaths before sitting up and looking warily around. The lights were dim and she was lying on a bed, somewhere on the ship. She remembered his voice,  _ 2683 _ and shuddered. Taking a breath, she slid off the bed, landing softly. It took her a moment to steady herself. Her entire body felt weak, as if she'd just finished a hard workout.  _ Apparently being sucked through time and space is rough on a body.  _ The door of the room stood open and she crept through, watching for the man who'd called himself Richard. She was pretty sure he was human, but she wasn't so sure she could take him down. Better to be on guard. Lights flashed through another doorway and she moved closer. 

Her picture glared at her from the huge computer screen that dominated the upper half of one wall, her eyes narrowed, mouth twisted into a sneer. Her mugshot, taken when she was arrested. Lists of information scrolled over the screen beside the photo. 

"You may as well come in." Her eyes swung to the chair that sat just to the side of the screen. His back was still to her, but he'd somehow known she was standing there. Cautiously, she entered the room, glancing around to make sure there was no one else there. He spoke again, his voice sounding mocking and amused. 

"Faith Lehane, born December 14, 1980. Convicted of murder in 1997 and sentenced to life in prison, without chance of parole. Escaped in April of 1999. Last sighted in Los Angeles, California on June 21 of that year, in the company of a tall, dark haired male. Your lover?" 

"Hardly," she said, her stance defensive, arms crossed over her chest. 

He spun around in the chair, his eyes shining in the low light. He’d removed his goggles, raising them above his brows and they gleamed in the darkness, shimmering, like mirrors, shining black pearls. She stared, then blinked and then took a breath, moving past her surprise. 

"Quite the rap sheet, Ms. Lehane." 

"It's Faith. Just Faith," she said, sharply. A smirk lifted one corner of his mouth. "All right, Just Faith, now tell me how the fuck you got on my ship and-" He glanced at the monitor. "still looking so fresh for your advanced age. What, you been in cryo for the last 800 odd years?" 

"The amulet-" Her eyes widened and her hand flew to her neck. 

"You mean this?" She looked up. He was holding the necklace by the chain, the red jewel swinging and catching the light from the computer screen. She took a step toward it, but he pulled it back. 

"I found it on the floor, near where you- appeared. No idea how it got there, though. It was supposed to be packed in my cargo hold.”

She took a breath and let it out slowly. 

"I was in the hotel, Angel Investigations headquarters. Wesley, our antiquities expert, had brought in a box of things he'd found in Wolfram and Hart's basement. The amulet was in it. I just picked it up, was looking at it and the damn thing sucked me in. I landed here- with you," she said, glaring at him as if it were his fault. He looked at the amulet, curiously. 

"Time travel. Most days, if you tried to use that excuse with me, I'd call you a liar and kill you without a second thought." Her body tensed and she reached for her knife, before she remembered it wasn't there. Damning Angel for his rule about going unarmed at the hotel, she waited. Those strange silver eyes moved back to her face. 

"But since your explanation is the only one that fits, let’s say I believe you, for now. If I find out you're lying to me, I can always kill you later." He gestured to an empty chair on the other side of the computer screen. 

"Have a seat. Tell me about Angel Investigations and what kind of dealings you had with Wolfram and Hart." 

Faith's eyes narrowed with suspicion. 

"You know the name?" she asked and Riddick smirked as if she'd said something very stupid.

"Everyone knows the name. They're only the biggest damn company in the known ‘verse. They've got their fingers in everything from military to farming."

"Then they really haven't changed since my time, just expanded to space," she muttered. Riddick gestured to the empty chair again.

"Sit. Tell me. Tell me about Earth that was."

~*~

Faith regarded the man before her in the low lighting. They'd just spent two hours playing twenty questions, or some variation of it. He'd ask questions about the twentieth century, she'd answer and ask about life in this time, in space. He never hesitated to tell her what she wanted to know, even calmly talking about being a convict, a killer, that voice of his calmly describing the blood, the methods, the reasons behind each murder. For the first time she wondered if she'd finally met someone who carried the same kind of darkness around inside as she did. 

He knew her rap sheet, her childhood, her credit history, everything. Apparently, he'd taken her fingerprints while she slept on a little hand held computer that was patched in to the main system on the ship. He was more interested in the things the officials had never figured out, her life when she was off the radar. When she got to the part about being a vampire Slayer, he raised an eyebrow. 

"What, are you gonna tell me you don't believe in monsters?" she asked, crossing her arms. A distant look entered those gleaming eyes. 

"No. I absolutely believe in monsters. Came face to face with some a few years back, as a matter of fact." 

"Then what is it?" 

"Vampires. They became legal citizens of Earth in the late 22nd century." 

Faith stared at him, looking like she'd been punched in the gut. 

"Citizens? As in, everyone knows they're vampires and they just get to walk around like normal people?" 

"Mmm hmm, walk around, get jobs, own businesses, get married and divorced. All of it."

Sickness churned in her stomach. Vampires walking around with the humans, like wolves with the sheep. She glanced up to find him watching her with those strange eyes.

"What bothers you more? That they're free to prey on the human race, un-hunted or that all your work was for nothing?"

"Fuck the human race. If they're weak or stupid enough to be eaten, then they deserve it. I hunted vamps for years, dammit, destroyed more than I can count. Now they're down there breeding and walking around like they belong there," she spat, bitterly.

"Actually, they're not. A virus wiped out about half the humans left on Earth in 2315 and the ones that survived were altered at a genetic level. They still look the same, not mutants or anything, but any vamp that gets a mouthful of their blood is dust within a day. It pretty much took out the entire vampire species."

Faith stared at him appraisingly. His face was still impassive, unreadable as he waited for her reaction. She retreated to her tried and true method of covering her shock; sarcasm.

"Well, aren't you just a font of information. What did you do, memorize your history book?"

"Not much else to do in Slam once you've gotten the message through that you're not interested in the little society inside those walls. After you kill a few guards and more than a few inmates, the others tend to leave you alone."

"Self-educated man. I like that. Sounds like prison hasn't changed much in the last eight hundred years."

"Guess not. Now, tell me about the tall, dark haired male you were with when you were last sighted on Earth." 

The humor on her face drained away and she lowered her eyes.

"Angel."

"As in Angel Investigations," he surmised and she nodded, her face still very serious. "You said he wasn't your lover. Family?"

Faith raised her gaze back to his face to find him studying her, intently.

"I guess you could say that. Kindred is more like it." Interest sparked in those eyes and he leaned forward.

"How so?"

"He's- he  _ was _ -" she corrected herself, "a vampire." 

Riddick raised his eyebrows.

"A vampire and a Slayer?"

A tiny smirk passed over her lips.

"It's more common than you'd think."

"Tell me," he said.

"It's a long story," she told him, shaking her head. Riddick gestured to the small porthole.

"We're in deep space. The nearest station is about six days away. Take your time."

She glanced at the porthole, then back at him. He was leaning back in the captain's chair now, his booted feet propped up on the edge of the console. His hands were laced behind his head and he was watching her, waiting. Faith took a breath and let it out slowly before she spoke.

"His name was Angelus..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to post a chapter every few days, rewriting as I go.


	3. Chapter 3

~*~

Riddick stared at the screen above the console, but didn't see it. Faith's words rolled through his mind like a recording, bits and pieces of the story. It didn't seem like she'd left much of anything out, except for the fact that everything she said had been in the same level tone, with no emotion of any kind in her voice.

"... Angelus made Drusilla and she made Spike...they massacred hundreds...a Gypsy curse... Buffy... Spike... Angel Investigations... vampires with souls... Wolfram and Hart..." It was like whispering in his mind as he studied it, studied her. So much pain, so many deaths... a soul forced upon a vampire, dragging him back to humanity... sounded a little too familiar. He'd been a beast once, a murderer, taking lives without remorse, much like the vampire Angelus. Then he'd gotten stranded on a planet full of monsters with a bunch of civilians, a merc and a little girl.

Jack. She'd worshipped him, following him around, even shaving her head to try and look like him. He'd saved her, taken her off the planet with him. Three weeks on an emergency skiff. Close quarters for a convict, a holy man and a kid. 

She cried when he left, screamed and threatened and finally begged. He hadn't looked back, didn't want to see her struggling against the holy man's arms, trying to follow him. Didn't think he could take it. He'd gone through Hell with that girl and come out on the other side a different creature, branded by her, in a way he wanted to regret, but found he couldn't. She'd forced a soul upon him and it was indeed a curse. So he'd left her there, in New Mecca, in the care of the holy man, Imam and walked away. She didn't deserve his way of life, no matter how much he wanted to take her with him.

~*~

Riddick laid perfectly still, listening to the sound of fists on vinyl. His cabin was dark, as usual, and the lights in the rest of the ship were dimmed to a degree that was comfortable to his eyes. Faith was at home in the darkness, almost as much as he was. She never complained about the low light and seemed to function perfectly well in it. 

He'd shown her the cargo hold the morning after she'd arrived. When he first claimed the ship from it's previous merc owners, he'd fashioned a small training area in the mostly empty space, with hard mats on the floor and a sand-filled bag that hung from the ceiling and was anchored to the floor. She'd spent a lot of time there since then, working through her issues, he supposed, as he listened to her. He'd never watched her, never gone into the hold when she was there. He had to admit he was curious about her style, about how she would move when she fought. 

Riddick sat up and got to his feet, moving silently out of his cabin and toward the cargo hold. She'd left the door open and he slipped through it without a sound. Just inside the doorway, he stopped and went perfectly still.

Graceful, beautiful and dangerous. Training in the dark, she moved with precision and strength, every inch of her body in perfect accord. She gave no indication that she knew he was there, but it didn't surprise him when he stepped toward her and she spun around with a well-aimed kick to his midsection. He caught her ankle in mid-motion, her foot barely an inch from his stomach and she froze, not losing her balance, just holding her fists in a ready position. 

"You knew I was here," he said and she nodded. "How?"

"Vampires are sneaky bastards. You learn to...  _ feel _ the things around you, to practically see in the dark, or you die. Those eyes of yours would've come in pretty damn handy." 

He released her foot and she lowered it, taking a step back, her hands never quite relaxing completely. 

"They say vampires were tough to kill, that most people didn't survive an attack. Super strength, speed, reflexes. What makes a Slayer any different than the rest?" he asked, taking a step toward her.

"We got our own super powers," Faith said, tensing. Riddick's eyes flashed, silver in the darkness.

"Show me."

~*~

He was fast, almost as fast as a vampire in the darkness and Faith found herself slipping into combat mode, as if this were more than a sparring match, as if she were fighting for her life. Glad that they weren't using weapons, she blocked and spun and pretty much gave blow for blow with Richard B. Riddick, mass murderer. It hurt every time his fist connected and she had a feeling he was holding back, that if he wanted, he could kill her with his bare hands. He moved with liquid grace, like big cat and she found herself breaking a sweat trying to keep up with him. 

She didn't know how long they sparred, only that her body was both energized and exhausted when he swept his foot behind her and knocked her flat on her back. A split second later, she felt him kneeling over her, his hands on either side of her head and she knew that if he'd had a blade, it would be at her throat. 

"Lights to twenty percent," he growled and suddenly she could see him above her. He was shirtless and barefoot, wearing a loose pair of synthetic cotton pants. The muscles of his arms were bunched from holding himself up and she couldn't quite keep her gaze from flickering over the expanse of his chest before she looked at his face again. Heat pooled in her belly, arousal flooding her lower regions. It had been a long time since she’d been with a guy and his weight on top of her wasn’t entirely unwelcome. She raised her eyes to meet his. He was watching her and the corner of his mouth curved into a smirk.

"You're not bad. For a girl." 

Her temper flared, but Faith shoved it back down, knowing he was baiting her.

"And you're not bad for a condescending bastard," she spat back, without any real anger.. but not without heat. "Now get the fuck off me so I can go take a shower."

His only response was a soft, rumbling "Mmm," but he moved, rising quickly to his feet and watching as she got up. She felt his eyes on her the whole way to the bathroom.

~*~


	4. Chapter 4

~*~

Riddick watched her slip into the bathroom and listened for the sound of the locking mechanism. It didn't come. Damn, she was cocky. He heard the water start running and pictured her taking off her clothes, stepping into the shower, under the spray. Water running down tanned skin, over muscles and curves, dark hair in a smooth sheet over her shoulders.... 

Riddick blinked. She was sexy and strong and so very sure of herself. He liked that in a woman. He wondered what she'd do if he joined her in the shower. If she told him to go, he would. Oh, he'd tease her a bit first, maybe wash up and make her wonder a little, but in the end, he'd leave her alone. He was a lot of things, but not a rapist.  _ But if she didn't tell him to go... _

~*~

The water was hot, raining down on her shoulders, beating away the tension. The adrenaline rush had slowed, leaving the pleasant exhaustion that was familiar after a fight. Faith raised her arms up, resting her forearms on the shower wall, just under the spray and lowering her head into the water. She rested there for a moment, remembering the play of muscles under his skin, the strength and power in his hands. A shiver went through her that had nothing to do with cold and she raised her head, turning around.

She wasn't really surprised to see him standing there, only vaguely annoyed that she hadn't sensed his presence sooner. She let her gaze travel over the planes of his chest, hard stomach, narrow hips and lower before she looked back up at his face. His eyes were shining, quicksilver, full of heat and something like challenge.  _ A dare? _ Faith felt the lazy smirk curve her lips. She'd never been one to turn down a dare.

~*~

  
Faith stepped toward him, reaching out to flatten her hands on his chest, running her palms over his skin, to his shoulders. Her nipples brushed against his skin, tightening against the heat of his body, and she felt his hands span her waist, pulling her closer. Her hands slid around the back of his neck and she dragged his mouth down to hers. The kiss was everything she was; bold, confident, demanding and reckless. Riddick growled low in his throat, tightening his hands on her waist and lifting her up.    
  
"Shower off," he snapped, breaking the kiss. The water stopped running and Faith looked at him.    
  
"What, no water sports?" she asked, wrapping her legs around his waist, swallowing the gasp when he shifted his grip from her waist to her ass, supporting her weight and pressing her center against the heat of his stomach.   
  
“Can’t waste the water, still a while before we can swap it out. Besides, I want you in my bed," he replied. He carried her out of the bathroom without stopping for a towel, leaving a trail of water behind them from the shower to his cabin. He knelt on the bed, still holding her. “I want you under me," he growled, laying her back against the pillows.    
  
"And what if I said I wanted to be on top?" she asked, already pulling him down to her.    
  
"We'll get to that later," he promised. Faith laughed and Riddick silenced her with a harsh kiss.    
  
~*~    
  
His hands were rough on her skin and she arched against the delicious friction when he cupped her breasts in his palms. His thumbs flicked over her nipples and she bit her lip at the heat blossoming in her belly. She could feel the length of him pressing against her and her hips bucked in response. She groaned, wanted him closer, wanted him inside her.   
  
Riddick ignored her, taking his time, kneading her breasts, weighing them and finally drawing one taut peak into his mouth. He suckled, hard, his teeth scraping over the sensitive tip and she cried out. One large palm ran down her belly, fingers tangling in the curls between her thighs. Her hips arched against his hand when one fingertip slid into her and she gasped.    
  
~*~    
  
She let out a soft moan when he stroked her and he raised his head from her breasts to watch her face. Her fingers were clenched in the sheets at her sides, her body humming under his hands. He rolled his fingers in her slickness and she parted her thighs further. He was so hard it hurt, but he waited, watching, rubbing the heel of his hand against her mound while his finger stroked deep inside. He heard her breathing grow ragged, saw her knuckles turn white and her jaw clench.    
  
"Riddick..." Her tone was part plea and part warning and he rose to his knees above her. His hands slid to her hips, lifting them until the tip of him was pressed against her entrance. He met her gaze and slid into her in one smooth thrust.    
  
Her breath caught when he filled her, her lips parting in a silent cry. She raised her hips, taking him deeper and he rolled to his back. Straddling him, she ran her hands over his belly, resting her palms on his chest as she rolled her hips experimentally.    
  
Liquid silk caressed him from hilt to tip and Riddick bit back a groan. He saw the smile flicker over her lips, the knowledge that she had power over him, and he bucked against her. She gasped, her hands tensing on his chest and he felt the self-satisfied smirk twisting his lips.  _ Good to know it's a mutual weakness.  _ She moved again and effectively wiped away any thoughts other than easing the growing ache in his groin.    
  
She fucked like she fought, with animal grace and complete abandon, as if nothing in the world existed except these moments. Her head thrown back, her nails digging into his chest, she rode him. His hands found her hips and he increased their pace. His eyes locked on her face, as the pressure inside him built and his control grew thin. He clenched his teeth and drew on years of self-discipline. She was close and when she finally came, he wanted to be along for the ride.    
  
~*~    
  
Deep, so deep inside her it almost hurt and she wanted more, harder, faster. Thoughts were irrelevant, the outside world wasn't even a memory. There was nothing, nothing but the rhythm of his body and hers, the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, keeping perfect time. Her body was tense, taut as a bowstring. The hips beneath her thrust, the hands on her waist pulling her down, pulling him deeper and the string snapped.    
  
Someone screamed and Faith dimly realized it had been her. She heard Riddick's animal cry, felt him arch under her as he found release. She collapsed against his chest, her limbs feeling shaky and weak. Nothing around her seemed real. His heart thundered under her ear and she felt his palms run over her back, caressing, his arms tightening around her.  Breathing hard, she closed her eyes and let herself drift. 

~*~


	5. Chapter 5

~*~    
  
"Unidentified craft, you've entered New Meccan air space. State your identity and cargo."    
  
Faith was jolted to full awareness by the man's voice. It echoed through the ship as he repeated the order and she sat up, looking around. She was alone in the room. Faith slid out of bed, grabbing Riddick's shirt off the floor. She was still buttoning it when she walked into the control room to see Riddick sitting at the console, the lights in the ship unusually bright.    
  
"New Mecca, this is captain William Cavanaugh of the  _ Golden Harvest _ . I'm not carrying any cargo at this time," he said, a drawling accent.    
  
Faith raised an eyebrow at the way he manipulated his voice and he grinned.    
  
"Any passengers aboard?" the voice over the radio asked.    
  
"Just my wife," he said. Faith made a face, but said nothing. He'd told her days ago that he'd set up false identities for both of them. Naming her as his wife seemed the safest way to go, for both of them.    
  
"Very good,  _ Golden Harvest _ , you're cleared for docking. What's your purpose in New Mecca?" The voice sounded much friendlier now that he knew captain Cavanaugh had a wife.    
  
"We're picking up my sister," Riddick said. Faith stared at him, curiously. He'd never said anything before about a sister, just that he had business in a place called New Mecca. She didn't even hear the last words that came over the radio. She was too busy watching Riddick.    
  
As soon as he turned the radio off, she spun his chair around and straddled his lap. He leaned back and looked at her, his eyes unreadable behind the dark goggles.    
  
"So, what about this sister of yours? Is she the business you have to attend to?"    
  
"Jack. I left her here, seven years ago, in the care of a man I trusted. Got word not too long ago that she's been in some kind of trouble. I'd just headed out when you dropped into my lap." There was something in his voice when he said the name Jack, something that spoke of a bond that went deeper than blood.    
  
"She's not your sister, is she?"    
  
"Close enough. Some things are more important than genetics." His hands, resting on her bare knees, slid up her thighs and under the shirt and Faith shivered. She couldn't see his eyes, but she could feel his gaze on her. "Much as I hate to say it, you should get dressed. We'll be docking in a few minutes. Once we get down there, we'll get you some different clothes, something that won't stand out quite so much."    
  
He was blatantly trying to change the subject and she let him. She could wait to find out more about this Jack person. Sliding off Riddick's lap, she made her way back to his cabin to get dressed. 

~*~

"I trusted one man, Imam. I trusted you to keep her safe. Did I make a mistake?"

Riddick's voice was low, dangerous and Faith raised her eyebrow at the man in the flowing robes. He just looked back, calmly, with dark eyes. There was something in those eyes that unnerved her, some inner peace that Faith could never understand. They'd gone to Imam's house after stopping in at a shop and picking up some clothes for Faith. Imam's unnerving gaze moved from Faith to Riddick and there was a note of regret in his voice when he spoke.

"She changed after you left, Riddick. You were everything to her and after you were gone, she wanted nothing more than to go after you. She ran away less than a year after we arrived. There was trouble. Many men died and they put a bounty on her head. She went to prison almost a year ago."

"Where is she?" Riddick growled. 

"I was told of a world where the sun was so hot that nothing could survive there," Imam said, in even tones.

"Crematoria." The word held a note of certainty, finality and Faith looked at Riddick, curiously. If he felt her gaze on him, he didn't acknowledge it. There was a long moment of silence before he spoke again. "Faith, let's go. We're off this rock in the next hour."

He didn't look at Imam again, just walked out the front door and Faith kept pace with him. She glanced sideways at his face every so often, but his expression never changed, remaining unreadable. 

"I guess I don't have to ask where we're going. Crematoria," she said, watching him. He didn't answer and she continued. "Didn't exactly sound like a weekend getaway. What is it?"

"No daylight Slam, completely underground. Maximum security, supposedly impossible to escape from." His words were clipped, but she ignored the tension in his voice.

"And your Jack got herself locked up there? A jailbreak then, I take it. Sounds like fun." He didn't answer and she shrugged, following him back to the docking station.

~*~

As soon as they were cleared to launch, Faith stood up from the copilot's chair. Riddick was ordering the lights to twenty percent. 

"How long until we get to Crematoria?"

"About eighteen hours," he said, lifting his goggles away from his eyes.

"Good. I'm gonna get some sleep, then I'm taking a shower and changing into some different clothes." He said nothing, just nodded.

~*~

Her new clothes were different, but comfortable. As it turned out, young adults these days could dress just about any way they wanted, as long as it was extreme. A lot of the clothes she'd seen in the shop hadn't looked very different than the stuff twentieth-century teenagers had worn. She'd picked out a few pairs of pants, some shirts, underclothes and a pair of shorts for training in. 

The pants she pulled on after her shower were silver vinyl, snug as a second skin and shimmering like mercury when she moved. The tank top was synthetic cotton, form-fitting and cropped a good three inches above her navel. Her own boots had fit in just fine, so she'd kept them. 

When she felt the jolt of the ship landing, Faith flicked a glance at the mirror and had a moment to wonder what Riddick would think of her new outfit.

~*~

"Don't look much like a merc, do you?" he asked, surveying her attire.

  
She raised an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to?" 

"You're the lucky merc who managed to take down Big Evil and you're bringing him in to collect the bounty," he informed her.

"Did I now? Well, good for me. How, exactly, did I manage this?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something. Don't change, by the way. The more distracted they are, the better." He was opening a small cupboard under the console as he spoke, searching for something.

"Gee, that's what I always wanted to be, a distraction." Her words dripped with sarcasm, but Riddick didn't answer. When he turned around and stood up, he was holding what could only be a futuristic version of handcuffs, along with a few contraptions she wasn't sure she wanted to identify. "Lemme guess, I get to figure out how to strap you into all these nifty little gadgets."

"I'll show you how," he said, opening the restraints and wrapping one cuff around his wrist.

"Sure you will," she muttered, stepping forward to help him. 

With his instructions, she chained his wrists at a painful angle behind his back. She cuffed his ankles together, leaving just enough slack between them to walk. It sent a shiver through her and she remembered her own arrest, the ugly orange jumpsuit, the chains on her wrists and ankles. Taking a breath and shaking off the memory, she pulled the blindfold over his eyes, leaving his goggles in place. The bit was the last piece and she flinched when she tightened the buckles down on it. Riddick gave no sign of a reaction other than the subtle tensing of his muscles. He looked well and truly contained, but she had a feeling he was far from being helpless. She took a deep breath and opened the ship door, guiding Riddick down the ramp, toward the tunnel that would lead them to Jack.

~*~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader Beware: This is the point where I start playing fast and loose with Jack's adult character. I was never a huge fan of changing her name to Kyra and for this fic, her attitude toward Riddick wasn't going to work. So I took some liberties, please forgive me. Also, if I have a weak spot in my writing, it's fight/battle scenes. I can see them in my head, but I can't seem to describe them to save my life, so if anyone wanted to be my beta and help me with that, or with any other parts of this fic, I am completely open to that, just let me know!

~*~

"You don't look like much. How did you get him in chains?"

Faith looked at the guard with one of her eyebrows raised.  _ Definitely not the brightest crayon in the box.  _

"There are easier ways of getting a man where you want him than holding a gun on him. Give a guy the right incentive, he’ll practically beg you to tie him up," she said with a suggestive smirk and lift of her eyebrow. Riddick had told her to be distracting. She was rewarded with lascivious grins from the three guards.

They'd moved his restraints from behind his back to above his head and removed the bit, ankle chains and blindfold. He was being lowered slowly into a pit by a rope and the guards' attention was fully on Faith.

"About the bounty," she said. "I prefer hard currency."

The guards exchanged looks between themselves. The leader, the one with the heavy accent, stepped toward her. 

"It will take some time to get final approval on the amount. A day, at least. You can stay here with us while you wait. We have other guests, waiting on their payment, as well, but there is plenty of room for one more."

She looked at him skeptically. She might not have been in this time for long, but she’d been dealing with guys like this since she was a teenage girl on the streets of Boston. She had a pretty good idea of what being a “guest” here was going to get her.

"Today. No longer or I take him and go somewhere else."

"You won't get as good a price anywhere else," the guard argued.

"Today. You'll have it for me today, within the hour, or we're gone." She said it loudly, hoping Riddick would hear her and know how much time he had to get Jack out. There was a thud from below and the rope went slack. Riddick was loose. She glanced at the pit, then the guard.

He nodded. "One hour."

~*~

Riddick knew there was someone behind him, knew it was her, but he didn't turn around. He waited until he felt her breath on his ear. Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. 

"Where the hell can I get eyes like that?" 

  
Riddick grinned.  _ Jack. _

"You gotta kill a few people," he said, as if following a script.

"Did that," she said. "Did a lot of that."

Riddick turned around to face her, lifting his goggles away from his eyes. She was beautiful. He'd known she would be. Her hair hung around her shoulders in dark curls, her eyes wide and clear. The belligerent tilt of her chin was the same as always.

She was no longer the skinny little kid he remembered. Very grown up curves filled out her clothing.  _ She still dresses like a boy, though. _ Her shirt was gray, with long sleeves. Her pants were just a smaller version of his own, pockets down the sides of her legs and boots that laced up to her calves. She was watching him, carefully.

"Ready to get out of here?" he asked. 

"Nobody gets out of here," she told him.

Riddick smirked. "Watch me."

~*~

Faith knew it was coming long before the guard made his move. The tension in the small room had been steadily increasing while the leader spoke quietly into a handheld comm unit. Presumably he was speaking to his superiors, getting final authorization to pay the bounty on Riddick, but she didn't think that was the case. More likely, they were planning on overpowering her, raping her and keeping the bounty themselves. 

She had other ideas.

~*~

Riddick was looking at the rope, calculating how long he had left before Faith's hour was up. Wasn't long, maybe fifteen minutes. It would take him less than a minute to climb up, but if they noticed him before he reached the top, he'd be an easy target. 

The sound of gunfire jolted him out of his thoughts and he looked up at the guard tower. The sounds of a fight drifted down to him and the other convicts began appearing from whatever dark holes they'd been sitting in. Taking two running steps, Riddick jumped and caught the rope in one hand. He pulled himself up, toward the guard tower and Faith.

~*~

They were cowards, but they were well armed cowards. Faith rolled behind a table and felt the vibrations of a bullet hitting the other side of the metal surface. Two men had appeared from the hallway, the other guests, she assumed, but she had no way of knowing whose side they'd be on. She'd caught only the barest glimpse of them before she'd had to duck out of sight. She'd gotten a good swing in, bloodied the leader's nose before the other two had pulled their guns. The sound of a neck cracking had her peeking over the top of the table.

There was Riddick, his thick arm wrapped around the head guard's throat, his eyes shining in the semi-darkness. The other two men were finishing off the guards and Faith slowly rose to her feet, watching their silhouettes. Something about the way they moved was off. They weren't human.

"Riddick," she said, warningly and he stood, turning to face them. His nose wrinkled as if he smelled something bad. 

"Vampires," he growled. 

The two shadows were moving toward them and Faith hopped over the table, moving to stand beside Riddick, her entire body tense. The voice that came out of the darkness shook her to the core.

"How did I know we'd find you in a Slam, Faith?"

The shadow behind him flicked a lighter, casting a soft glow and she stared.

"But in the company of Richard Riddick, now that's a bit of a shock."

~*~


End file.
